《The Girl's Return》


 Chapter 1: Exile

    An 18 year old girl with sparkling blonde hair and serene blue eyes walked on a road while carrying a heavy back pack. She wore a simple tunic and a cloak to protect her skin from the heat of the sun.


    ¡°....¡±


    When a town came into her sight, the young girl stopped her march and stared hard at it. Her lips quivered as she attempted to swallow every inch of her view. Finally after tens of seconds, the girl said, ¡°I¡¯m back huh....¡±


    The girl then hid her face with a hood and quickly headed to the town.


    ^^^^


    As far as I could remember, I had two names. Crest and  June Drake. The former was the name I currently have while the latter was the name I had in my previous life. With this as a context, I¡¯m pretty sure that most people already understand what I am. However, I didn¡¯t really have the memories of my previous life ever since I was born.


    I think the reason those memories woke up was because of a certain life-changing event I experienced in the past.


    The despair, futility and depression I felt at that moment might have been enough to trigger them up. It¡¯s awakening caused my memories to jumble up and threw my head into confusion. Though the memories of June¡¯s life were a bit ambiguous and unclear in some parts, the sheer amount of it was enough to cause severe headaches for a few days.


    In June¡¯s life, he lived a mediocre life in a rural town of an unknown country in a world where magic did not exist and science ruled supreme. The way the people lived their daily lives and how they cope up with the changing seasons were really different from the way the people of this world did.


    One day, his country was thrown into confusion by a one-sided declaration of war by its neighbor.In response to the declaration, his country quickly conscripted men, gathered volunteers and armed its people to protect to protect it¡¯s sovereignty from the invaders.


    Since that day, the June¡¯s country had become a battleground. No one from his homeland were safe. People he knew died, comrades he met as a volunteer were killed and the friends he held dear were murdered in front of him.


    The days of conflict turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months. In the end, after 2 years of fighting in the frontlines, June had realized that his country had lost the war.


    June saw hell as he looked at his country¡¯s capital. Hordes of planes flew over the sky as they dropped tons of bombs into his city. Enemy tanks and soldiers mowed down the defenders and killed them without remorse. And, as he turned his gaze back to his front, he saw an enemy soldier point a gun at him.


    The enemy soldier shot at June without hesitation. And, within a few seconds, lead bullets pierced through June¡¯s body as if he was made out of paper. He fell to the ground on his back. I didn¡¯t know what kind of face June had made as he stared at the smoke-filled sky. However, because his emotions also came along with his memories, I could somewhat guess the kind of expression he made at that time.


    A face full of grief, regret and frustration. A very ugly expression that came from a man who made too many mistakes during his lifetime.


    Then, before his memory was cut off, the voice of the soldier who killed him reached his ears.


    ¡°Cain... I killed him Cain... I managed to kill your murderer Cain! Hey, where are you? Where are you Cain? Cain!!!¡±


    The soldier sounded frantic and from the tone that he used, anyone could tell that he had gone insane. June thought back to as far as he could, however he never knew anyone who had the name ¡®Cain¡¯. Then, as June continued to think back, he made a conclusion. Cain may have been the friend of the soldier that killed him. And from what he said, June may have been the one who killed him.


    Realizing that point, the feelings of regret he had felt got stronger. During the early days of war, back when he had just lost his friends, he had volunteered to become a soldier for the sake of revenge. And with that as a goal, he continued to kill the invaders without remorse. Every time he killed the invaders, his comrades and the people he protected would rejoice. At first, June paid no heed towards their cheers. However, the chances he could kill the invaders were not everyday. In fact, peaceful days were more often than the days of battle.


    Since he had no choice, he forced himself to spend those days with his comrades. He didn¡¯t like it at first. However, no matter how much his mind wanted revenge, the weariness of his heart had desired the opposite. As a result, he came to like the peaceful time and before he knew it, his goal had changed. Though he still had the desire to avenge his friends, the desire to protect had overshadowed it.


    And now, a person who may have been like what he was had shot at him. If Cain was a person who June had killed in the past, then everything would make sense. Though there was a chance that June didn¡¯t kill Cain, the possibility still existed. And because of that possibility, the regret that June felt became stronger and stronger. In the end, as his consciousness grew less lucid, the irony and regret he felt from being killed by a person who had gone insane for loosing a friend in a war dyed his mind in a deep dark color.


    And with those feelings lingering, June¡¯s memories were cut off at that point.


    June¡¯s death was quite tragic and depressing. However, the things I experienced could somewhat be comparable to his. Though it may not be as gruesome, the feelings felt almost the same.


    In my current life, the country that I lived in was called Estria. It was a monarchic country that had 400 years of history.


    According to the history I could remember, this country was once a dukedom that was under the control of a certain great empire. When the emperor of that country suddenly died, no one really knew who the rightful successor was. Some said that it rightfully belonged to his first son, the empires first crowned prince. Others said that the second crowned prince was more suited to the throne. A few more then said that the third and fourth princes were just as viable as them.


    Tensions rose and a civil war was fought between them. The nobles were split into factions and the commoners followed them in suit. Persecutions, trials and executions became a commonplace. People started to doubt their neighbors. Death became common place and the children suffered the most for losing their parents. As the dark and horrid days continued, the Empire¡¯s people had grown weary from the constant conflict.


    So, they petitioned the people who had high ranks in the military to find a way to stop the days of suffering. Though a lot of these were shot down, those that weren¡¯t were deliberated and understood by them. When these reached the ears of the 4 princes, they decided to meet up and negotiate with one another. The negotiations lasted for days, the noblemen who followed them grew paranoid as the princes continued to discuss on what would happen.


    In the end, the princes had reached a conclusion. The four of them would each found a country and cut off all relations from the other. The places where they found their respective countries were the places where their influence were strong. Estria was one of those countries that was formed as a result of those discussions. It was located in east of the empire, near the Dwarven-Beastmen alliance.


    Since the day of division, Estria had experienced peace and prosperity for 400 hundred years.Although a few battles were fought in its borders, the skirmishes never led to a war.


    And in that peaceful country, I was born as the first daughter of a duke house. Because it was a high-ranked noble house, the familiy I belonged to had close relations to royalty. From time to time, my parents would meet up with the King and offer him some advice. What more, though it may sound obvious to some, my father had a very high-rank in the royal court. I didn¡¯t know what it was, however, from what I heard from him, it seemed like his authority was second only to the king.


    Thanks to that or should I say to my misfortune, I, who was his eldest daughter, was taught very strictly from a young age. Etiquette, dancing, and proper manners where drilled into me. I wasn¡¯t given any leeway on anything. From day till night, my time were used up to the brim just to learn all of those things. And, since I wanted to respond to my parents expectations, I accepted these with enthusiasm.


    One day, when I was 10 years old, father introduced the first prince of Estria to me. With a smile, I made a curtsy as I introduced myself to him. I acted in a prim and proper way. I felt that my introduction was perfect. However, the first prince casted a cold gaze to me before snorting and walked away. Though his actions were quite rude, specially to a lady, I forced myself to endure because he was the first prince of Estria.


    When that day came to an end, I asked my father if there was something I did to get a cold reception. And with a scowl he responded, ¡®You still have a lot of things to polish. Your bow needs to have more sincerity and your smile needs to look more elegant. I¡¯m gonna increase your tutors next week so you won¡¯t shame our family.¡¯


    I responded with a small nod to my father¡¯s words. Not because I wanted to, but because I had no other option but to agree.


    A week after that, as father had said, the tutors that taught me increased by two-folds. Thereby, decreasing my free time by half.


    The days of tutoring came to an end when I reached the age of 13. The reason wasn¡¯t because my father became gentler, but because I was now old enough to go to school.


    Eventually after my father sent me to school, I was reunited with the first prince after 3 years. And, like that day, when I introduced myself to him, I was flatly ignored by him. Even though I was his fiancee, he still ignored me. Although the event was disheartening, even for a child like me, I forced myself to endure it since I was the first daughter of a duke house and was the fiancee of the prince.


    Some days after that, as I strolled around the school, I coincidentally stumbled upon the prince. I found him talking to a girl with a gentle smile on his face. The presence that he had as he chatted with the girl were the exact opposite to mine. And, as I gazed upon the two, questions started popping up within my mind.


    Who is she? Where did the meet? How did they meet? Where does she come from?


    How come he¡¯s smiling with her?


    What does that smile mean?


    Why? Why? Why? WHY!?


    I wasn¡¯t jealous of that girl or anything. I was only anxious. If the prince made such an expression to any girl, he would have at least showed me that because I was his fiancee.


    But, in reality, he never did. A simple conclusion could easily be brought up if one judged how he behaves with me. Even I arrived to that conclusion, however, the desire to run away from that answer was strong. What¡¯s more, if that were true, then my position as his fiancee would be in-danger. And if that were to happen, I wouldn¡¯t be able to meet my father¡¯s expectation of me. He may abandon me.


    No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!


    I continued to deny the possibilities that came up as I observed at the prince and the girl. Then, in the middle of my denial, a plan was made within my head.


    First, let¡¯s find out what and who that girl is! Let¡¯s make countermeasures after that!


    I hired henchmen and informants to dig up the girl¡¯s history. I even used my status as a duke¡¯s daughter to coerce the people around me to answer a few of my questions. And after a few days, I managed to uncover the girl¡¯s identity.


    A commoner! How can the prince tolerate a commoner to appear before his presence! A commoner should never appear before a prince casually! She needs to undergo some procedures before appearing before him! I mean he¡¯s the first prince of this country! He¡¯s the future king of Estria!!!


    No... wait, this school has accepted other commoners besides her. However, not one of them approached the prince as casually as her.


    ...


    She must be an assassin! An assassin after the prince¡¯s life! My god! I need to ward the prince of... this.


    At this point, due to paranoia, anxiety and desperation my reasoning had somewhat died. Any speculations or conspiracies, so long as those things placed the girl in the wrong end of things, I would easily accept it as the truth.


    ... If I were to warn him... would even listen to me? No... I think he won¡¯t. In the past, he never really opened up to me.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ...


    But still, as a noble of this country and as his fiancee, I am obliged to protect his life! But how?


    I didn¡¯t know if I had gone mad or not, however, if I had any close friends during these times, he or she may have said that I had gone insane. Sadly for me though, I didn¡¯t have any, so nobody was there to stop me from the plan that hatched up due to my insanity.


    What if I showed the prince her real character! If I showed him her true colors, he may even realize what she really is! Heck, he may even go further and find the mastermind behind her! Un! Let¡¯s go with this!


    The next day, I started my harassment. Because I didn¡¯t really know how far I could go before she revealed her true colors, everything had started lightly. Things like pushing her down, forcefully ordering her around and backstabbing her. However, the girl was more stubborn than how she looked. Every time I did those things to her, the girl would just smile at me and say, ¡®I¡¯m sorry.¡¯ to me. Making me more and more frustrated. As such, every time she directed her smiling face at me, I would escalate my harassment a step further.


    Even though I didn¡¯t like doing these things, normally. But because the anxiety and guild had substantially cornered my mind, I wasn¡¯t able to think of other options. As such, I hardened my resolve and continued on. Despite knowing that I was in the wrong.


    One day, as I gave out orders to harass the commoner girl, the prince suddenly appeared before me. He didn¡¯t have the cold icy expression he usually faces me nor did he have the gentle expression he uses whenever he¡¯s with the commoner girl. The expression that he had was one of anger. The fires of wrath burnt on his eyes as he stood before me, looking down at my face.


    A chill ran down my spine as my instincts understood how he looked at me. He was looking at me as if I was the lowest trash to have ever lived on the land.


    I cowered in fear before his presence. As a result, my mind started to deny itself as I attempted to reason out how it had come to this.


    Next thing I knew, I was presented before the current king of Estria with my body on the floor and my hands bound to my back. Before the king, the nobles and my family, the prince listed out all the things I did to the commoner girl.


    I didn¡¯t deny anything nor did I attempt to voice my reasons to them. It was because my mind wasn¡¯t able to catch up to the things that were happening. I was afraid to face the consequences of my actions. I was in despair because of the thought of what was gonna happen to me. And, I was confused as to why I was being humiliated by the prince.


    Despair, fear, confusion and regret dyed my mind in their color thereby triggering the awakening of June¡¯s memories. With its awakening, I couldn¡¯t help but shout out in pain despite the place and time I was in. The king, the prince and the nobles were baffled by my scream. The guards attempted to restrain me, however, before they could even touch me, I had fainted.


    Since that day, I experienced severe headaches, sleepless nights and identity confusion for a few weeks. And, while I was in that state, the people around me continued to move their agendas. In the end, even though I was still confused and delirious from June¡¯s memories, I was sentenced into exile and was disowned by my father.


    One good thing that happened when I snapped out of my confusion, was that my identity as Crest wasn¡¯t swallowed by June Drake¡¯s identity. I¡¯m not exactly sure why but I think that it may have been because June¡¯s memories were quite ambiguous and vague if I compared it to my memories as Crest.


    Well, either way was fine for me though. If I considered the things that happened in his life and in my life. I didn¡¯t really care which identity won, it didn¡¯t really matter all that much to me.


    Anyways, by using the memory of June Drake, I was able to survive my days of exile. It was also thanks to his memories that I wasn¡¯t consumed by hatred and revenge. I wonder what would I have done if I was consumed by hatred though but I would digress if I continued this subject.


    Though the things he experienced in his life were the main driving force, the the quotes, ¡®The opposite of love isn¡¯t hatred, it¡¯s apathy.¡¯ truly sealed the deal. Logically thinking, love and hate means being aware of an individual. Meaning both may mean ¡®interest¡¯. If I continued to hate the king, the prince, the nobles and my family for the things I experienced, it¡¯d mean that I still hold ¡®interest¡¯. meaning I may still love them.


    This is where apathy comes in. Apathy means becoming ¡®uninterested¡¯ and with this alone it is obvious that it¡¯s the opposite of ¡®interest¡¯. And, if I hold no ¡®interest¡¯ to them, it¡¯d mean they would become the same as strangers to me. Who¡¯d care about a stranger, right?


    Using June¡¯s experience and that quote as a compass for how I live, I managed to enjoy my new life as an exiled noble¡¯s daughter. What¡¯s more, because of the memories from June¡¯s life, the world that I currently live became more vivid.


    According to June¡¯s standard, the world I lived in was considered a ¡®fantasy world¡¯. It was mostly because this world had dragons, elves, dwarves, demons, monsters and, most importantly, magic. Thanks to that, I didn¡¯t get trapped in my past and instead made a new goal spontaneously.


    ¡°I wanna explore this world! I wanna meet the people of this world! Experience things that could only occur in stories! And... and... live life without regret!!!¡±


    With the shackles from being the fiancee of a prince and being the first daughter of a nobleman off of me, I, for the first time, had tasted freedom. The same kind of freedom that commoners have. And, the same kind of freedom I had in my previous life.


    I¡¯m talking about the freedom to do anything, choose anything and to live life according to my whims.


    Since that event, 5 years had passed and I had become 18 years old. I managed to tour most of the ¡¯known¡¯ world within those 5 years. During the first year of my journey, I decided to tour the countries that were spawned from the fall of the empire 400 years ago. I spent 3 months in each country before moving to another one. Adding the 3 months I was at school back in Estria, my time as a 13 year old came to an end as I exited the northernmost country of the fallen empire.


    In the second year, I visited Lakia, an Elven kingdom that was located north of the fallen empire and lived there for a year. The life I had as I stayed in the Elven country was quite fulfilling and enjoyable. As thanks to their kindheartedness, I helped the people I was indebted to when a time of instability came to their lives. As thanks to my deeds, the Elves wanted to present awards and title to me, however, because I only did it as thanks for what they did. I decided to flee from their and return another time.


    Next, I visited Vrom, also known as theBeastmen-Dwarven Alliance that was located east of the old empire. I managed to arrive here at their capital quite easily because of a certain magical beast I had befriended as I stayed with the Elves. There, I met a [Wiseman] who was who taught me the arcane arts. I was afraid of him at first because of his terrifying look, however, when I conversed with him, he turned out to be a gentle old man. He was very spartan during training though. All in all, it took me a year before I could master the arcane arts. And, once I had mastered it, I decided to resume my journey.


    By the way, as I lived in the Lakia and Vrom, I also experienced loss, depression and other stuff. Heck, there was a lot of times where I almost got killed! But, experiencing sad times along with happy times really made me feel that I was alive. So, I continued to live on while carrying all those things on my shoulders.


    Then, on the fourth year of my exile, I went overseas and stumbled upon a Clockwerk nation. Again, with the help of a certain magical beast, I was able to safely arrive. As I landed along the coast of that country, I was bewildered by their advanced way of life. It was very different from how the countries I had mostly visited. I felt like I had traveled through time and had arrived into the future.


    Automatons, that looked like humans, walked along the towns performing theatrics or doing menial jobs in place of men. People manipulated a floating screen-like object with their fingers. And, the carriages and carts weren¡¯t pulled by horses, but were autonomous and looked quite modern.


    I felt joy as I toured the city and learn their culture. Thanks to June¡¯s memories, I was able to easily adapt to their lifestyle. The temptation of spending my entire life their was really strong. As a result, I stayed their for 2 years. Summing it all up to 5 years.


    One day, as I was strolling around the town, I heard a rumor about the existence of a floating island. If I went by the common sense of my June¡¯s world, a floating island would have been physically and scientifically impossible. However, because the world I now lived in was a world of magic, something like a floating island should be possible. Just the thought of adventuring around that island greatly lit up my heart. As such, I decided to take the quest and clear it.


    A few days after I heard the rumor, a few hints from hearsay arrived to my ears.The first hint was about the reason why. even though flying magic existed, no one currently alive had visited the floating island. From what they said, it had an ancient barrier magic that prevented most people to enter through the island using flying magic.


    This meant that there was a special way to enter that island.


    The second hint they gave was certainly about that special hint. From what the informants had heard, in the distant past, magic circles for teleportation which lead to the floating island were scattered around the known world. However, due to a catastrophic event of some sort, that super advanced civilization had collapsed. Then, as thousands of years passed by, the people who knew the location of those magic circles died out.


    Learning of this, I changed my methods and quickly decided to use all the knowledge I had and had gained from my previous journeys to find a way to find those magic circles.


    Thankfully for me, I was currently staying on the Clockwerk nation. The people here were experts in magic engineering and with their help, I was able to make a magic tool that picks up on the special signature that teleportaion magic circles would leave behind when they are used.


    The tool was shaped as a small sphere that had runic symbols and arcane numbers from their language lodged within it.


    Bowing my head in gratitude for their help, I quickly moved to find those magic circles.


    And, my search had lead me to the country of Estria. The country I was exiled.


    It took me the entire latter half of the third year after my exile to find the very first magic circle. But, no one would¡¯ve expected it to be the very country that exiled me. Wielding an orb with runic letters engrave within it, I stared at the royal capital that came into my sight. I looked at the orb then switched my gaze back to the royal capital and back to the orb.


    I continued repeating this for quite a while. In the end, I put the orb back into my back pack, I adjusted my cloak, hid my face with a hood and decided to go to the royal capital.


    ¡°I¡¯m back huh....¡±


    The best revenge is to live on and prove yourself.


    -Eddie Vedder


    Floatingfeather here, nice to meet you.

 chapter 2: Return and the search

    Inside a certain library, a pair of boys stood, with a dumbfounded expression, in front of a girl who was nonchalantly reading a book while seating on a corner of the library.


    Though the girl was beautiful, that wasn¡¯t the cause for their expressions.The reason was because of how the girl looked similar to a person in their memories. Though that girl was exiled from the country, the resemblance she had was enough to make anyone mistake them for being the same person.


    The two stared hard at the girl as they compared her to the exiled girl from 5 years ago. Though some slight differences were noticed, the girl generally looked the same as the one who was exiled.


    Both had the same sparkling long blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. They were also similar in their doll like faces and their fragile looking appearance. What¡¯s more, the aura of dignity she emanated from the girl was the same as from that of their memories.


    The only difference that she showed were her height and her clothes.


    Seeing as how similar she was to the person who was banished, one of the boys was swallowed up with fury and asked the girl in a crude, rough and disrespectful manner.


    ¡°Oi, you¡¯re Crest Luccedias Arcentol, right? Weren¡¯t you supposed to be in exile! Why the hell are you here!?¡±


    Hearing the boy¡¯s question, the girl placed a bookmark on the book and closed it before meeting the boy¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°It is true that my name is Crest, however, I don¡¯t remember ever having a surname or the likes of that. I think you¡¯re mistaking me for a different person. Also, please be quiet inside of the library.¡±


    The girl made a gesture using her index finger and her mouth in an attempt to silence them.


    ¡°Are you mocking me!?¡±


    ¡°No, I am not. I don¡¯t even know you in the first place nor do I wish to be acquainted with you.¡±


    The girl replied with a reproachful and cold voice before standing up from her seat. She gave the pair of boys a slight bow before going to the library clerk¡¯s desk.


    ^^^^


    As I approached the gates of the royal capital, a guard, who was stationed near the gates, went near me. Cold sweat trickled down my back as the thought of him knowing my circumstances crossed my mind.


    ¡°Can you show me your identification card?¡±


    The question that the guard asked me threw me into a disarray. Strength left my legs, forcing me to sit on the ground.


    ¡°Are you perhaps tired? Once you¡¯ve showed me your identification card, would you like me to guide you to an inn?¡±


    For a guard, he was quite polite. It wasn¡¯t all that rare in the countries I have been, but the way how the talk turned into him guiding me was quite strange.


    ¡°Ah, no thanks. I was just surprised by your appearance.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    I stood up from the ground and patted my miniskirt before opening my back pack to get the things he wanted. I took out six cards from it and considered which of them was appropriate.


    ¡°Can any of these do?¡±


    I showed the guard three cards. These three were from the countries that were near the country of Estria.


    ¡°Let me see.... Ah, the ones from Lesius and Thralt are okay, but the one from Gardecia isn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°From what I heard, relations with Gardecia has become quite tedious?¡±


    ¡°Eh? What happened?¡±


    ¡°Dunno.¡±


    ¡°I-I see...¡±


    By the way, Lesius, Thralt and Gardecia were the other three countries that were founded after the collapse of the old empire 400 years ago. If we go by the direction, Lesius is south, Estria is east, Gardecia is north and Thralt is west.


    Since I lived for quite a while in Lukia, I had a lot of acquaintances living in Gardecia. My bonds with the people who lived there were quite strong due to the events that transpired while I lived there, so my worry for their safety was quite founded.


    Let¡¯s hope nothing happens to them.


    I know, let¡¯s visit their embassy if I have time. A certain great person from their did say to contact him through their embassy if needs be. Un, let¡¯s do that.


    While making a mental note as the guard checked my cards, once he judged that nothing was wrong with them he allowed my entry. Also, as I entered the gates, I noticed that he wanted to chat with me more, but because he was no more than a stranger for me, I refused most of his invitations. He was quite nice to invite me to dinner though.


    From here, the things I did follow a pattern I was used to. Finding an inn, ordering food at a store and rested at my room. Actually, I didn¡¯t know when this habit was formed, however, it was quite effective. I usually do this whenever I stayed at a town for a first time.


    ¡°First time staying huh....¡±


    Staring at the inn¡¯s ceiling, the melancholy and nostalgia I felt came crashing down to me. If you were me, why wouldn¡¯t you, right? I was born at this country, raised here by my parents and exiled from here in the end.


    If I was talking to another person, he may say, ¡®Why now? Why are you experiencing those feeling now? You¡¯ve been in this country for days already. So, why now?¡¯


    My answer to that question would be, ¡®Back when I lived here, the places I could go to were quite limited. Most of my time were spent studying, learning manners, and practicing how to dance. The only days I wouldn¡¯t be doing those things are those days when my mother would organize a party or we¡¯ve been invited to one.¡¯


    If I compared those memories to June¡¯s memories, the childhood I had was quite stale and monotonous. Everyday, I would repeat those things, not by my will but by the will of my parents and by those around me. Whenever I remember June¡¯s childhood, I would feel envy to him.


    He spent his playing around with friends, being surrounded by them and being wrapped by the warmth of his parents. His was exactly the opposite of mine. Anybody who was in my position would feel envious of how he spent his.


    ¡°Huh...?¡±


    My thoughts were disturbed when my cheeks got wet from something. I placed my hand to see what it was, only to discover that the cause came from my eyes.


    ¡°... I¡¯m crying? Why?¡±


    Throwing a question to no one, I stared hard at my hand, which became wet because of my tears, before forcefully going to sleep.


    ^^^^^


    The sound of people moving about and the bright light from the window woke me up. I quickly changed my clothes and asked for food from the inn manager before going outside.


    Though last night was quite depressing, being down doesn¡¯t serve any purpose. Positive thinking is the way to success! I¡¯m not the same Crest as I was in the past!


    While I was pumping myself up, I realized that I had already finished all the preparations I needed to start the day.


    ¡°Now then...¡±


    I took an orb-like object from my bag pack and applied magic to activate it. Runic symbols and arcane numbers appeared from within the ball. The symbols and numbers combined, showing me a direction to follow. I followed its direction single-mindedly, while avoiding collisions and obstacles, before coming to a halt in front of a uselessly massive gate.


    The gate was quite huge. It was around 10 meters tall and 6 meters wide and had a uselessly expensive look because of the designs and carvings it had. If I compared it to the gates from other countries. It did give out a majestic feeling, but still, if a horde of monsters were to attack this city, the designs and that majestic feeling would be useless.


    Ah, my thoughts strayed off.


    Anyways, I stood in front of the gate with an expression of shock. I wasn¡¯t shocked because of how useless its designs were, but I was shocked because I knew what was behind the gate.


    ¡°No way, it¡¯s inside there? The Royal castle?¡±


    Yes, if I were to enter the gate, I would easily arrive to Estria¡¯s Royal Castle. I didn¡¯t really have good memories regarding that place, so the feeling of disgust was quite strong within me.


    Pacing near the gate, I contemplated whether I should sneak inside or give up the quest. However, because giving up wasn¡¯t the option, it meant that the only option would be for me to sneak inside that.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°For now, let¡¯s make that the last resort. First, let¡¯s go to the national library, there may be some clues about the magic circle.¡±


    As I decided what to do, I headed to the national library without hesitation.


    This time, because I wasn¡¯t looking at the magic tool, because I (thankfully?) still know the direction where the national library generally was, I was now able to observe my surroundings.


    Comparing the current state to that of my memories in the past, the expression that the people who lived here was quite different. They looked more desperate and high-strung.


    ...


    Now that I think about it, the person who manages the inn also had a very scary expression.


    Hmmm? I just realized something. Was the manager a man or a woman? Was he old or young? Let¡¯s confirm it later. Thinking about it, didn¡¯t I move like an automaton last night? Moving according to pre-established orders without regard to the surroundings. Oh my god, habits... they¡¯re scary.


    Ah, my thoughts strayed again.


    Anyways, while I was pondering why the people had very stiff expressions, I managed to safely arrived at the national library. I observed the library from the roof to its base and concluded that it was quite humble if compared to the other national libraries I had visited.


    It was 2 story high and 6 lots wide. Quite small if I do say so myself. I¡¯d be insulting the national libraries of Lukia¡¯s and the Clockwerk¡¯s if I were to compare this to those. Though the libraries of other nations were quite big if compared to this, the libraries that those two nations had were bordering impossible. Especially the Clockwerk¡¯s national library.


    Lukia¡¯s library was attached to a really large tree, which by the way was a hundred times larger than the Sequioa trees in June¡¯s world. The library was placed on the side of it¡¯s bark and branches. What¡¯s more. according to an elf I knew, the library encompassed all the branches that the tree had.


    It¡¯s branches were already uncountable. So my point of it bordering ridiculous was understandable.


    However, in the case of the Clockwerk¡¯s library....


    Well... how do I put it. The very first impression I had when I first arrive their was, ¡®Impossible!¡¯. When I asked an automaton stationed there regarding the size of their library it answered that it had gone past what was spacially efficient.


    The hell with. ¡®gone past what was spacially efficient¡¯!


    It said that because they lived in an island, increasing the size of the library ¡®city¡¯ was not economical. As such, their engineers had devised a way to keep the library ¡®city¡¯ compact by exploiting the space between dimensions to increase the size of their library.


    By the way, you may have noticed that I attached.the word ¡®city¡¯ to their library. Since it¡¯s quite obvious what a city is, I won¡¯t dive into it any further.


    In addition, since the Clockwerk¡¯s were quite technologically advanced in a magical sense, when I said ¡®city¡¯, the standard of how large a ¡®city¡¯ is isn¡¯t the same for the rest of this world. The benchmark I used to came from June¡¯s memories.


    So, yeah. The Clockwerk¡¯s were quite a ridiculous bunch of people. Though they¡¯re quite selfish, when it comes to their knowledge and technology, they only did it to people who couldn¡¯t grasp their level of IQ.


    With that, I¡¯m really thankful to June¡¯s memories. The world in his memories were quite advanced in a scientific sense and thanks to that, I managed to go toe to toe with the clockwerk¡¯s IQ.


    Oops, I¡¯m digressing again.


    Well, let¡¯s go back to what I¡¯m currently doing.


    While I was digressing, I managed to enter the library safely thanks to the identification cards and introduction letters I had. The clerk¡¯s reaction to the cards were quite normal, but when she saw read the introduction letters that I had, the sweat falling off from her forehead was a great scene to behold.


    Fufun, seeing this reaction always make me happy.


    The reason why she became that panicked as she read those letters is simple. It¡¯s because those introduction letters came from the [Wisemen] and the [Sages] I met during my travel. Though I met some of them in a very trivial and idiotic way, some of them were born from the fruits of my perseverance and stubbornness.


    If you¡¯re wondering how I met them and how I interacted with them, let¡¯s save them for later, shall we..


    Anyhow, I gathered the books that had the keywords; magic circle, teleportation magic and old magic arts from the library. What¡¯s more, thanks to the introduction letters, I even managed to enter the restricted parts of the library.


    Viva authority! Long live the [Sages]! Long live the [Wisemen]!


    Though I do wish they¡¯d fix their personalities though. Especially the [Sages]. Though they¡¯re quite smart, they way the behave were quite strange. I can¡¯t count the number of times they attempted to touch my butts, hips and breast.


    If only they weren¡¯t giant perverts, my respect for them would have reached the heavens. Incidentally, the difference between the two is quite obvious. The [Sages] study phenomenon which were not caused by magic while the [Wisemen] deals with things that are caused by magic.


    ¡°Oi, you¡¯re Crest Luccedias Arcentol, right? Weren¡¯t you supposed to be in exile! Why the hell are you here!?¡±


    A voice from a stranger hailed me. Though I said I was called, I wasn¡¯t really sure if it was me. It was because when he called my name, a few unfamiliar things were attached after it. But, because I felt no presence besides me in this corner, I deduced that he was calling me. So I closed the book I was reading and faced the boy.


    ¡°It is true that my name is Crest, however, I don¡¯t remember ever having a surname or the likes of that. I think you¡¯re mistaking me for a different person. Also, please be quiet inside of the library.¡±


    I answered his question and even advised them the proper discipline while inside the library. However, from the furious look that he had, it seemed like he took my warning in the wrong light.


    Haaa~


    Though I managed to relax myself thanks to the books I was reading. Getting disturbed in such a rude and pertinent way can really dampen anyone¡¯s mood.


    ¡°Are you mocking me!?¡±


    Just because you¡¯re a handsome, that doesn¡¯t excuse your behavior you know. The way you behave is an embarrassment to all the handsome blonde people I¡¯ve and will met you know. Even if you make such a scary face, it doesn¡¯t scare me in the least you know.


    I¡¯ve experienced scarier things in my travels. Seen more terrible things with my eyes and felt more horrifying acts with my body. So no matter what face you make, you don¡¯t scare me. Well, if it were me from three years ago, I¡¯d be pissing in my underwear right about now. So I¡¯ll praise you for that.


    ¡°No, I am not. I don¡¯t even know you in the first place nor do I wish to be acquainted with you.¡±


    I answered the boy in the coldest voice I could muster. Though I wanted to mix bloodlust within it, but because it¡¯d be spoiling the atmosphere that the library provides, I held myself back for the sake of the books.


    But still, being near such an impertinent boy can be quite annoying. Which is why, I decided to change locations. I headed towards the library clerk and asked for a private reading room.


    Chapter 2 end.


    Floatingfeather here,


    Nice to meet you guys again, I''ve come to reply to a few questions. In regards to what SaraAlexiel said, he was quite correct. I overwrote my previous story and made this one. The reason why I did that was because if I updated the story from 4 months ago by now, it''d feel quite awkward for me, so I decided to overwrite the story.


    Next, KK2, well, I''ve been editing chapter 1 and chapter 2 and found what you meant. I''ve changed it and also added a few details to it to add more meat to the story.


    As for the rest of the people that pointed out the mistakes, thank you very much. I''m very grateful for it. Hopefully, I''ll see you guys in the next chapter soon. :D

 Chapter 3: The things that happened

    In a certain room filled with luxurious furnitures and decorations, a boy took a piece of paper from a folder. On the paper, a picture of a young girl was pasted on it. Below the picture were details of where the girl had stayed, what she had done and who she had met.


    ¡°So the reports have arrived....¡±


    A voice suddenly arrived to the boy¡¯s ear. He raised his face to see who it belonged to and found his long time friend. He stood near the door with a trolley that carried a tea set and some snacks.


    ¡°Have you read it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but the location they found her was somewhat unexpected.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I see... either way, I think you already know what we¡¯re gonna do.¡±


    The boy¡¯s friend made a smile as he placed a cup filled with tea near his desk.


    ¡°Everything has been prepared. All that is left is for you to give the orders.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    ^^^


    It has been 6 days since I had arrived on Estria¡¯s royal capital and my schedule have been pretty the same as that of my first day. Waking up, eating my breakfast, going to the library and returning back to my in. Though I had contemplated on visiting other places, however, because I didn¡¯t really want to stay here for too long, I felt rushing things a bit. As such, while I was visiting the library, I also sent a few familiar to scour the royal capital while I was at it.


    By the way, the manager of the inn I lodged in was an old man. Though he said that he was still 36 years old, but the visage made him look more like a 50 years old. I would often times chat with him as I take my dinner at his inn. And, the things I learned from our talks were quite a lot. Let¡¯s start with the least important things.


    First, the old man¡¯s name was Guildy. He had no surnames nor titles attached to his name, just like me. Only the [Royalty], [Aristocrats] and [Knights] can have titles and surnames. Us commoners can¡¯t and are not allowed to have them.


    Though there was a time when I had those stuff, but because of the event 5 years ago, I had lost it. Well, having those and not having those is not really a problem for me. As a traveler, the only things you need are comrades, your tools and yourself. Anything more than that can be considered a luxury.


    Anyways, let¡¯s go back to our topic. The next thing I learned from the old man was how his attitude and his looks don¡¯t match. If you only look at him from afar, he looked like a veteran that had gone through the same experience as June did.


    What¡¯s more, if he wore some fur armor, add some tattoos and a few scars, he would look like a barbarian leader. When I told him what he looked like in my mind, he made a wry smile and said, ¡®I get that a lot.¡¯


    I think most people would already know what kind of personality the manager had just from the line he said, but I will still say it to you. Even though he looks like a barbarian boss, the way he acts feels less like a savage and more like a nice neighborhood aunt. The kind that would say, ¡®hello¡¯ to you every morning and give out candies to children that passes by. Because of that, I really feel conflicted whenever I talk to him. Anybody would... I think.


    Un, yeah, I think anybody would.


    Anyways, that sums up some of the least important things I learned from our talks. I¡¯m gonna move on to the more important matters that I heard from him.


    The first thing on the list had something to do with an even that occurred at the capital 4 years ago. According to him, the royal family suddenly did a crackdown on every official that were stationed on every town and region under their rule.


    At first, the commoners didn¡¯t really know what it was for nor why they did it, but because it was a decree by the royal family, they felt that it couldn¡¯t be help. However, as the knights and soldiers carried the orders out, the deeds of some official and the contracts they made with some of the nobles were brought out in the open.


    When the people learned of the things those official did, they became embroiled with anger as they understood how corrupt and evil those officials were. Things like slave-trading, embezzlement and smuggling. As a result of this, the people cursed and persecuted the captured officials. They even wished that they be hanged.


    However, if they were to be killed, then the information they carried would be lost. Though it made the people a bit discontented, but when they heard of the reasons why they weren¡¯t executed, they decided to endure it for a bit.


    Then, as the crackdown and the hunt for corrupt officials continued, the knights were lead to a certain organization.. From the information they had gathered, this organization had existed even before the kingdom had been founded.


    They had a long tradition of secrecy and held many relations with those that held power in the kingdom. When the knights reported their finding to the king, he felt outraged and quickly ordered all the knightly orders to participate in the hunt.


    And thus, the kingdom had waged war against itself.


    In the beginning, the king did not really know who was a friend nor who was an ally or who was an enemy. Everybody was suspicious of everyone. They knights cautiously observed all the nobles and if anyone made the slightest movement, he or she would quickly be under suspicious.


    One day, a betrayer of the organization showed up. That person carried a list of who was a member of their organization and those who wanted to join it. What the list contained shocked everybody. The members of that organization ranged from high ranked nobles that belonged to the royal court to the humble farmer that lived in the countryside.


    The king hesitated whether to order the capture of all the member or not, however, with the help of a certain individual, a decision was made. He ordered the capture of those organization¡¯s members as well as their execution.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    His swift decision and quick actions of the knights left the organization¡¯s members unprepared. Everything happened so suddenly and before the commoners understood what was happening, the organization met its demise. Along its fall, more than half of the royal court and officials were lost. A third of the Estria¡¯s military were sent to the dungeons and an fifth of the population were publicly executed.


    All these events lasted for a good three years. A few months after the demise of that organization, the perpatrator that suggested the crackdown appeared. That person was introduced by the king and according to him, that person was also the one who helped him decide the swift actions he took. And, when that person appeared before the masses, the people were surprised by his identity. Everyone was sure that he was a man, however, he was in fact a she.


    She had a very youthful and beautiful visage. The crown during the announcement were mesmerized by her beautiful long hair that reached up to her waist. And, the eyes she had showed the people that she had a strong will that won¡¯t falter no matter who the foe was.


    That girl stood beside the king in a dress that brought the best of her beauty. The king introduced her as Angelica. She had no title nor surnames, signifying that she was a commoner. Everybody was shocked and speechless. No one at that time would have thought that she was a commoner because of the noble aura she exuded. However, the king¡¯s announcement that followed up further shocked the crowd. He announced her engagment to the first prince of their country. Everybody got excited as they heard this.


    If one looked at the record she left behind, she was truly worthy to be his partner. Everyone cheered as the prince appeared beside her. He took her hand, knelt in front of her and kissed it. When everyone beheld the spectacle, their cheers became louder and a festival that lasted for 3 days was held right after that.


    A year passed by, meaning now, and a crisis befell the kingdom. With the loss of some nobles and officials, the people that worked under the king were overworked to cope up with the lost human resources. Thanks to that, they fell ill one after another. Some even fainted as they worked. In addition to those grim news, some of the people who were executed for being part of the fallen organization had deep international connections. And, when they died, those same connections were lost and lead to a decrease of imports and exports. This eventually caused the country¡¯s economy to fall into recession. A lot of people lost their jobs, businesses closed down and noble houses fell into debt.


    Even now, those problems continued to overshadow the people. Because of that, the one who have a job had become quite wary and careful in performing their duties so that they wouldn¡¯t lose their jobs.


    And with that, the things I learned from the inn manager drew to a close. Now that I heard of the things had happened in this country, I now look at my surroundings in a new light. But still, even though I now know what the people were experiencing, I didn¡¯t feel any sympathy towards them. The conditions they were currently suffering were brought upon them by those from the higher ups. And I, a traveller and a foreigher(sort of), am unrelated to any of these.


    For that reason, my quest for the teleportation magic circle continues unimpeded.


    ¡°Hmmm?¡±


    While I was pondering on what the inn manager had told me, I noticed that a few knights were standing near the entrance of the library. I became curious why they stood there, so I hid behind a tree and used magic to eavesdrop.


    (Oy, isn¡¯t it this girl?)


    (Lemme see.)


    The knights closed in on a humble looking girl that carried a few books.


    (Excuse us for a bit.)


    (Huh?)


    As the knights called out to the girl, the girl became panicked as her knees started to shake in fear of the knights. They took out a piece of paper from their blossoms and started comparing the girl to it. After a while, one of the knights shook his head and said, ¡®Seems like she isn¡¯t the one.¡¯


    They then walked away from the girl and went back to the library¡¯s entrance.


    ¡°Hmmm? Could they perhaps be looking for me? Huh? I don¡¯t remember doing anything to prompt their investigations though.


    ...


    Well, thinking about it is no good. For now, let¡¯s not go to there.¡±


    I turned around and headed to the opposite side of the road.


    ¡°What should I do now? My familiars still can¡¯t find anything on the royal castle and my plans to go to the library had been barred. Hmmm.... ah, let¡¯s go to Gardecia¡¯s embassy and contact my friends!¡±


    Deciding on what to do I hastened my pace a bit, only to stop after a few seconds.


    ¡°But where¡¯s their embassy?¡±


    Since I just arrived here, the only places I knew were the library and the inn I stayed at. Knowing that I knew very little of the place I grew up made me feel a bit depressed. For that reason, I decided to ask some people I met along the road for directions. While I asked for directions, that man made a worried face and asked if I were from Gardecia. I shook my head to ease him up before parting ways with him.


    Chapter 3, end.


    Hello again everyone. Floating feather here and I''ve come to deliver the third chapter of my story. I''ve changed up the previous chapters a bit and adjusted some numbers to make my story a bit more involving(I think). I also did those things in response to some of the comments I received in the previous chapters. They made sense and after a few deliberations I decided to go ahead with it, resulting in those changes. Also, thank very much to those that pointed out my mistakes in the previous chapters, they really mean a lot to me and to my study in the english laguange. Thanks!


    Well, that''s all for today. Thank you for picking up an interest to my story, let''s meet up again after I posted chapter 4. :D